DEAR ONTARIO THEATRE SCENE

You are learning. And that is good. 

You are trying. 

And while I wished you were further along 

There are artists practising, thriving, within your framework

Reshaping what is possible within the practices you didn’t create for us. 

We work around your restraints whatever they may be.

Finances, usually.

Lack of opportunities, 

While we push, every day, to expand the meaning of Creative Access.

Rethinking,

Making the structures we work within finally work for us. 

Dear Ontario Theatre Scene,

Listen to us. 

Learn from us.

This is not a call out, but rather a call to action

To work alongside us.

Let's go about this together. 

Be receptive when we as artists call for accessible ways to create our art.

Listen to our needs. 

Find it in your budgets, make time for it.

Don’t let those little excuses be the reason change cannot happen.

Why performances can’t be interpreted, 

Why audiences can’t be masked even if it’s for one night. 

Create a climate where you support us

And your patrons can show their support towards us

In small ways, such as that. 

Put us on your stages and let us tell our stories. 

YES. Even the stories that aren’t just about our disabilities. 

Make your hours and backstage spaces accessible for us as artists.

And fight for us. 

Because I promise you, we will continue to fight for ourselves. 

Educate yourselves on how to engage with our work.

Neurodiverse and Disabled work. 

Let us work you through how to review us through a non-judgemental lens.

A lens that isn’t rooted in ableism or tokenism,

A lens that doesn’t see my disability before my artistry. 

And in the meantime, we will push forward, 

Make our art,

Review our fellow Neurodiverse and Disabled peers, 

Put each other onstage. Make space for one another. 

While we hope you feel empowered to engage in meaningful conversations that we lead.

Continue to prioritise accessibility in traditionally inaccessible theatre spaces 

Within a traditionally inaccessible framework. 

This is a call to action

To work alongside us. 

Because together we can make the Ontario Theatre scene 

Accessible

And enjoyable

For everybody. 

The Ontario Review for Disabled Arts